One Way to Make a Better and Effective Vaccine

Feb 05, 2018

Based on National Center for Health Statistics, 8.2% of death in the United States of America was caused by flu last December 30, 2017. The World Health Organization (WHO) is closely monitoring the evolution of influenza virus to produce the specific vaccine. The traditional way of creating flu vaccine is using an egg-based manufacturing process that has been utilized for vaccine production. To the continuous antigenic changes of a flu virus, it is more challenging to develop a specific vaccine against it. Also, scientists declare that egg-based flu vaccine viruses are more susceptible to mutation.

These challenges gave way to the first mammalian cell-based influenza vaccine. Madin-Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) is one of the first mammalian cell lines that was used as a host cell in the production of cell-based vaccines. MDCK cells are anchorage-dependent cells that originated from the kidney cells of an adult female dog (Canisfamiliaris). The MDCK cell line has been used for various applications, especially in vaccine production.

Proliferation of Cell-based Vaccines Using Tide Motion System

Candidate vaccine viruses were inoculated in the MDCK cells and allow them to replicate for a few days. Then, the virus-containing fluid will be collected, and the virus antigen was purified. The process continues with downstream processes for further purification and testing. Since vaccines are needed to be produced in large quantities, bioreactors are used to speed up the process. The cell-grown candidate vaccine viruses can proliferate using Tide Motion system.

Commercially available, CelCradle™ bioreactor is the most advanced bioreactor to produce the targeted secreted products, which we can refer to the virus-containing fluid from the cell cultures. With the use of Tide Motion principle, the gentle vertical oscillation of culture medium and air provides cells an environment that is low shear stress to avoid cell damage or cell death. MDCK cell cultures require high aeration and nutrition level to reproduce and perform more. This efficient nutrient and oxygen transfer is what allows the tide motion system to produce high-density cell yield.

BioNOC™ II is a 3D macrocarrier that ensures the cells are stable during and after culture. This macrocarrier is perfect for the anchorage of MDCK cell during vaccine production. It provides high rate exposure of cells to aeration and culture medium because of its high porosity. Moreover, BioNOC™ II is favorable for vaccine production because of its low fiber release that results in more downstream processes.

It is essential that the process in vaccine production is linearly scalable due to the demand for immunization in this time of pandemic. The TideCell® is the world’s largest linearly scalable single-use bioreactor, from seed preparation to 5000 liters with closed automated cell harvesting. It is the pilot/production scale system of Esco VacciXcell’s Tide Motion Bioreactors which is perfect for the mass production of vaccines. We can conclude that it is really promising that this cell culture technology is open to improve its effectiveness and reliable when comes to elimination of different kinds of egg adaptations that occur in egg-based vaccines.

The most common way that flu vaccines are made is using an egg-based manufacturing process that has been used for more than 70 years. Egg-based vaccine manufacturing is used to make both inactivated (killed) vaccine (usually called the “flu shot”) and live attenuated (weakened) vaccine (usually called the “nasal spray”).

Tide Motion pertains to the gentle oscillation of culture medium into and out of the matrix vessel that intermittently exposes the cells to aeration and nutrition. The upward oscillation exposes the cells to nutrition, while the downward oscillation exposes the cells to aeration. At the same time, this process washes away products and wastes. This oscillation produces no air bubbles and low shear stress. View a range of products at http://www.vaccixcell.com/tide-technology/

About Esco VacciXcell

Esco VacciXcell is the bioprocessing division of Esco Group of Companies that specializes in the marketing and manufacturing of bioprocessing equipment for cell culture.

Esco VacciXcell provides turnkey manufacturing solutions using its proprietary Tide Motion™ technology to help developing nations to be self-sufficient in the manufacturing, storing, distribution, and administration of vaccines and other biologics, thus providing a complete solution from Discovery to Delivery. For more information on VacciXcell, please visit www.vaccixcell.com.